Head protector cradle attachment



Sept 3%, 1956 c. E. BOWERS, SR 2,763,863

HEAD PROTECTOR CRADLE ATTACHMENT Filed June 30, 1954 v 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. owl/PAM 5. sawm; m.

C. E. BOWERS, SR

HEAD PROTECTOR CRADLE ATTACHMENT Sept 25, 19.56

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30. 1954 INVENTOR.

(HA/P15! flan/6P; 32 BY fiept. 25, 1956 c. E. BowERs, SR

HEAD PROTECTOR CRADLE ATTACHMENT Filed June 30, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 2,763,863 HEAD rnornc'ron CRADLE ATTACHMENT Charles E. Bowers, Sn, Moylan, Pa., assignor to The Fibre Metal Products (30., Chester, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 30, 1954, Serial No. 440,506

9 Claims. (Cl. 2-3) This invention relates to head protective equipment, and particularly to a head protector cradle attachment which is non-conducting so as to eliminate the hazard of electrical shock, and which is simple in construction so as to permit of rapid assembly.

There are various types of head protectors on the market today, such as safety caps, skull guards, and similar hard hats which have within them cradles for suspending the hat upon the head of the wearer. While the majority of these hats serve their intended purpose for the most part, there are occupations wherein these hats do not carry out the function of protection to the highest degree. In particular, I have in mind occupations in which the wearer is subjected to the possibility of electrical shock. In cases of this type, existing hard hats whose cradles are attached thereto by means of metallic fittings present a definite hazard in so far as the conducting of electricity is concerned. In addition, these existing head protectors have cradles which are made from materials that soil readily and are so constructed that the headband portion of the cradle can not be replaced without discarding the suspension harness thereof also.

With this in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide a cradle attachment for head protective equipment which eliminates the possibility of electrical shock to the wearer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a cradle attachment for head protective equipment which is free of any metallic fittings whatsoever.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cradle for head protective equipment which is relatively resistant to soiling, and which can be readily sterilized without destroying the member.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cradle for head protective equipment the headband of which may be readily adjusted with a minimum of eifort so as to fit a variety of head sizes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cradle for head protective equipment whose headband may be discarded without the necessity of discarding the suspension harness thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cradle attachment for head protective equipment which permits of the rapid assembly of the cradle within the head protector.

These objects, together with other objects and advantages to be derived in utilizing thepresent invention, will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings describing the preferred embodiment of this invention, in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a side elevational view of a head protector i 13, as shown in Fig. 1.

illustrating the cradle thereof being attached to said hard hat.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the hard hat taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and with parts broken away showing the means by which the cradle is attached to the hard hat.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a portion of the cradle and headband thereof with parts broken away showing the keyhole slot provided in the cradle for receiving the hard hat fitting, which fitting is illustrated therein in section.

Figure 4a is an elevational view of a portion of the cradle, similar to the showing of Fig. 4, illustrating the configuration of the keyhole slot shown therein.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a portion of the hard hat and cradle, with parts broken away, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 so as to illustrate the method by which the cradle suspension harness and headband are detachably joined together.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the cradle headband taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 and showing the internal structure thereof in elevation so as to illustrate its adjustability to fit a variety of head sizes.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the cradle headband with parts broken away taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the cradle headband taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Figure 9 is a sectional view of the hard hat and cradle similar to the showing of Fig. 5 but illustrating an alternate snap fastener attachment of the cradle suspension harness to the cradle headband.

Figure 10 is a sectional view of a modified version of the cradle headband taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, with parts broken away.

Figure 11 is a sectional view of the modified cradle headband, with parts broken away, taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

Figure 12 is a sectional view of the modified cradle headband taken along the line 12-12 of Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, a head protector or hard hat is therein represented by the numeral 10, and the cradle therefor for mounting the said hard hat on the head of a wearer is referred to by the numeral 11. The hard hat 10, which does not form a part of the present invention, can be molded from a suitable rigid plastic, such as Bakelite, or Fiberglas bonded with polyester resin. Looking at Fig. 2 it will be seen that the cradle 11 consists of four suspension members 12 joined in confronting relationship by means of an adjustment string 13, which members 12 are detachably attached to an adjustable headband 14 in a manner to be described below. Since the four suspension members 12 are identical in construction, only one of them will be described in detail.

The suspension members 12 are made from a suitable pliable non-conducting plastic, such as polyethylene or the like, and as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each of the said members is of a substantially triangular configuration having three fingers 15 extending downwardly from the base thereof. The two outermost fingers 15 are each provided with a keyhole slot 16 while the intermediate finger 15 is provided with an aperture 17' for a purpose to be described below. In addition, each of the triangular members 12 is provided with a small tubular member 17a near its vertex to accommodate the adjustment string The tubular members are located on the side of the members 12 opposite from the side which contacts the head of the wearer, so as to eliminate any discomfort to the wearer from the said string.

Turning now to Figs; 6 and 8, the headband 14 is shown therein as consisting of a flexible plastic strip 18 of substantially rectangular configuration having a soft bearing material 19, such as leather or other suitable material, sewn to the bottom edgethereof as at 20, and

folded upwardly so as to lie in adjacent relationship with" said'strip. In forming the headband, the strip 18 is looped in circular fashion with the ends thereof lying in overlapped relationship. One end of the strip 18 carries a plastic collar button 21 and is provided with an elongated slot 22 adjacent to said collar button and in axial alignment therewith. The other end of said strip 18 also carries a plastic collar button 23, the post of which resides in the slot 22 with the flange thereof bearing against the surface of said strip and lying between said strip and the bearing material 19, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.- it will be noted from Fig. 7 that the two collar buttons 21 and 23 lie in the same plane with respect to the respective ends of the strip 18. The end of the strip 18 which carries the collar button 23 is provided with a plurality of apertures 24 in axial alignment with theslot 22 and the collar buttons 21 and 23, the said apertures being adapted to receive the post of the collar button 21 so as to'permit of adjustment of the headband 14 to fit a variety of head sizes. Thus, as the collar button 21 is inserted into the various apertures 24, for size adjustment purposes, the button 23 slides in the slot 22 acting as a positioning anchor for the free end of the headband. The strip 18 is also provided with a pair of smaller slots 25 and 26 adjacent to the slot 22 and apertures 24, respectively, and a pair of small spaced apertures (not shown), which slots and apertures are adapted for joining the headband 14 to the cradle 11, in a manner to be described below.

Looking now at Figs. and 6, it will be seen that plastic collar buttons 27 are placed between the strip 18 and bearing material 19, with the post thereof extending through the slots 25 and 26 and the small spaced apertures above referred-to. tachable anchoring means for attaching the headband 14 to the cradle 11. To accomplish this attachment, the intermediate fingers 15 of the suspension members 12 are detachably attached to the buttons 27 by means of the apertures 17 provided therefor in said fingers, thus forming a quick and effective means of separating the suspension harness from the headband for the purpose of laundering and replacing worn parts.

An alternate fastening means for joining the suspension harness to the headband is shown in Fig. 9, wherein a metallic snap fastener 28 is used instead of the plastic collar buttons 27. It is to be noted that this fastening means is not satisfactory for use where electrical shock is imminent, inasmuch as the snap fastener 28 is a good conductor of electricity. It is satisfactory, however, where the possibility of electrical shock is remote.

Having detachably attached the suspension harness 12 to the headband 14, the thus assembled cradle is ready for being attached to the hard hat 10. Looking at Figs. 1-4, and particularly Fig. 3, it will be seen that the hard hat is provided with a plurality of non-conducting plastic fittings 29 adjacent to its lower peripheral edge, which fittings 29 are in the nature of a small grooved fastener received in apertures about the rim of the hat. The fittings 29 are thus detachably attached to the hard hat 10, and have a finger-engaging portion 30 extending inwardly of the helmet, as shown in Fig. 3, which portion is provided with a retaining flange for holding the fingers 15. The fittings 29 may also be molded integral with the hard hat so as to provide a unitary structure, rather than being detachably attached as described above. To join the cradle 11 to the hard hat 10, the fingers are attached to-the fittings 29 by first inserting the fingerengaging portion 30 and retaining flange thereof into the larger opening of the keyhole slot 16, and then pulling upwardly on said fingers until the said finger-engaging These buttons 27 provide a de portion 30 is received in the smaller opening of the keyhole slot, with its retaining flange bearing against the finger 15. The finger-engaging portion 30 of the fittings 2.9 is thus locked in place in the said keyhole slot, thus detachably attaching the cradle 11 to the hard hat 10. The locking of the fittings 29 in the keyhole slot 16 is assured by the fact that the neck portion of said slot joining the larger opening to the smaller opening is of a smaller width than the thickness of the finger-engaging portion 30 of the said fittings, as shown in Fig. 4a. it is to be understood, of course, that all of the fittings 29 are mounted in the hard hat 1!) in substantial alignment with the keyhole slots 16 of the fingers 15.

With all of the fingers 15 thus attached, the head protector is ready for use. For this purpose, the string 13 may be adjusted until the desired comfort is achieved, and the headband 14 adjusted in the manner described above, until the proper fit is achieved.

An alternate adjustable headband which may be used with the suspension harness of the present invention is shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. This headband consists of a flexible plastiestrip 31 of substantially rectangular configuration looped in circular fashion with the ends thereof lying in overlapped relationship. One end of the strip 31 carries a substantially rectangular loop 32 fixedly secured thereto by means of a rivet 33 or other suitable attachment means, and is provided with a plurality of aligned spaced apertures 34. The other end of said strip 31 resides within said loop 32 and carries a collar button 35, the post of which is adapted to reside in any one of the apertures 34 for adjustment purposes, as shown in Fig. 11. The strip 31 is alsoprovided with a pair of slots 36 and 37 which are adapted to receive collar buttons 38 and 39 for joining the headband to the fingers 15 of the suspension harness in the manner described above.

It will be noted from the above description of the present invention,,that a novel cradle attachment is provided for head protectors normally used in hazardous occupations, which attachment precludes any possibility of electrical shock to the wearer. In addition, the suspension harness and headband, being made of a soft flexible plastic, are comfortable to the wearer and relatively resistant to soiling, but may be laundered when soiled without damage thereto.

It will also be noted that the cradle parts are readily detachable so as to permit of quick assembly thereof, and to permit the discarding of individually worn parts without the necessity of discarding an entire cradle.

Although the present discussion of this invention has been limited to the above-described preferred embodiment, variations thereof are possible without departing from they spirit of the invention. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but only to the inventive concept as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shock-resistant head protector, a detachable cradle comprising, a multi-segment plastic suspension harness the segments of which are joined by an adjustment string, attachment fingers on each of said segments, an adjustable plastic headband, a plurality of plastic collar buttons carried by said headband for detachably attaching said headband to some of said fingers, the remainder of said fingers being provided with keyhole slots, and plastic fasteners cooperating with said keyhole slots and adapted for being attached to a head protector for detachably attaching said cradle to said head protector, the said headband comprising a rectangular plastic strip having a plurality of apertures in one of its ends and a longitudinal slot in the other end, the said strip being folded into a loop with the said ends overlapping and carrying adjustment fittings in said apertures and longitudinal slot for headband adjustment.

2. In a detachable cradle for a head protector, an adjustable headband comprising, a rectangular strip of flexible material having a plurality of apertures in one of its ends and a longitudinal slot in the other end, the said strip being folded into a loop with said ends overlapping so that the apertures lie in adjacent relationship with the longitudinal slot, a slot bearing material attached to said rectangular strip, and adjustment fittings carried by said strip and lying within said apertures and longitudinal slot for headband adjustment.

3. In a detachable cradle for a shock-resistant head protector, an adjustable headband comprising, a rcctangular plastic strip having a plurality of aligned apertures in one of its ends and a longitudinal slot in the other end, the said strip being folded into a loop with said ends overlapping so that the aligned apertures lie in adjacent relationship with the longitudinal slot, a soft bearing material attached to said rectangular strip and lying in adjacent relationship therewith, plastic collar buttons between said strip and bearing material and lying within said apertures and longitudinal slot for headband adjustment, and plastic attachment fittings carried by said strip for detachably attaching the headband to a cradle suspension harness.

4. In a head-protective device, a suspension harness fabricated ot flexible non-conductive material and having a plurality or depending peripherally spaced fingers, said harness being adapted to rest cornformably on a wearers head. a circumferentially extensile and contractile head band fabricated of non-conductive material and adjustable for snug circumposition about the wearers head, connecting means detachably connecting the lower ends of certain of said fingers to said head band, fiexure of said certain lingers enabling said head band to be ad justed without detachment of said head band from said harness, and fastener means for detachably securing the lower ends of other of said fingers to a substantially rigid hat arranged in externally spaced covering relation with respect to said harness and head band, said harness and head band thus serving to support a hat in externally spaced covering relation with the wearers head for increased protection against shock.

5. A head-protective device according to claim 4, said connecting means comprising non-conductive collar buttons carried by said head band at spaced locations there about for detachably attaching said head band to said certain fingers.

6. A head-protective device according to claim 5, said fastener means being fabricated of non-conductive ma.- terial.

7. A head-protective device according to claim 4, said harness comprising a plurality of flexible sheets arranged in radially disposed relation and each diverging radially outwards, and flexible line means adjustably connecting the inner adjacent ends of said sheets, said fingers being formed integrally with said sheets and extending radially outward and downward.

8. A head-protective device according to claim 4, wherein said other fingers are each formed with a generally vertically disposed keyhole slot having a centrally constricted region for receiving and releasably retaining said fastener means.

9. in a head-protective device, a suspension harness fabricated of flexible material and having a plurality of depending peripherally spaced fingers, said harness being adapted to rest conformably on a wearers head, a circumferentially extensible and contractile head band adjustable for snug circumposition about the wearers head, connecting means detachably connecting the lower ends of certain of said fingers to said head band, fiexure of said certain fingers enabling said head band to be adjusted without detachment of said head band from said harness, and fastener means for detachably securing the lower ends of other of said fingers to a substantially rigid hat arranged in externally spaced covering relation with respect: to said harness and head band, said harness and headband thus serving to support a hat in externally spaced covering relation with the wearers head for increased protection against shock.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,870 Bullard Jan. 24, 1939 2,295,855 Ludwell Sept. 15, 1942 2,384,183 Ludwell Sept. 4, 1945 2,398,561 Ruggiero Apr. 16, 1946 2,455,797 Myers et al Dec. 7, 1948 2,461,605 Huntsman Feb. 15, 1949 2,629,873 Jarosenski Mar. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 548,815 Great Britain Oct. 26, 1942 

